Several times last night Iheanacho made quick curving runs through their defence - the exact same type of runs that Vardy has been so succesful with - and instead of an early ball played in behind, he'd turn around and it'd be back with Ward. The only player we have who consistently plays those kind of balls (well) is Albrighton.
On the other hand, there were occasions where he'd be clearly offside and made zero effort to get back. At one point at 0-1 he was strolling back from their six yard box, still 30 yards offside, when we'd just won back possession in our own half.
At times in the first half I thought he looked motivated and up for it (whether that was because of the opposition, who knows). At other times, particularly in the second half, he looked bored.
Something isn't working right in this squad - there's a disconnect between defense and attack and players are getting isolated, and Iheanacho is unfortunate that it's making him look even worse as a result. He doesn't seem to be helping himself, though, with his application across the full 90 minutes.

Fair. Didn't mean to come across as slagging him off. If he can focus and apply himself fully in the position then I'd like to see how he does as a CM as well.
Then again, that kind of application has been missing from some of our players for a while now, even when playing in their natural positions

Just so long as he puts in a bit more effort than he did for Palace's goal at the weekend. As an attacking midfielder that sort of lack of application is frustrating at the very least - as a centre mid it's unforgivable.

If we wanted to play the youngest possible team in that formation, then it'd be:
Ward (25)
Amartey (23) - Soyuncu (22) - Benkovic (21) - Chilwell (21)
Ndidi (22) - Maddison (22)
Pereira (26) - Barnes (21) - Gray (22)
Iheanacho (22)
An average age of 22.5, and that's only so high because of Pereira (could swap for Diabaté) and Ward.
Obviously, there are areas we could strengthen that team, and we'd never throw all the kids out there together, but nonetheless it's promising that we have so many young players who are all premier-league quality (or will be) that we could field a full squad. Potentially a few options in the U23s who could make a claim for a spot, as well.

Ridiculous isn't it?
I can only think of maybe 3 players in the Premier league who'd comfortably get into a front 4 ahead of KdB/Sane/Mahrez/Aguero. One plays for Chelsea, one plays for Liverpool, and the other will probably be on their bench tonight!

He's not been able to do it with the united squad, no, but he's the kind of person who riles people up (both good or bad) and if we brought him in, the sheer contrast between him and Puel would have an energising effect (although possibly short-lived).
Doesn't matter though, it'd be a terrible appointment long-term (for many other reasons) and it'd never happen anyway.

I know you weren't being totally serious, but...
On the one hand, he'd absolutely spark some energy into the players that weve been sorely missing, lately. He's looked a bit worn down by the high pressure of the big clubs lately, so stepping down a level to us could interest him.
On the other hand, when he's winning his arrogance is justified, but when he's in a rut he's the most intolerable tosspot in the league. At a club like ours where victories don't come as easily as at his previous appointments that could be a recipe for disaster, and could potentially ruin the club from the inside out.
Won't happen anyway as his wage demands will be 5x what we'd be prepared to offer.

I imagine this is one of the big reasons why Chilwell has come on so well over the last few years.
Fuchs comes across as very likable but also very intelligent, clearly invested in youth development (hence his academies) and was naturally winding down anyway. Chilwell coming through at exactly the same time has worked out brilliantly and we've been able to afford game time to the young lad without upsetting a senior pro.

Ward,
Ricardo / Soyuncu / Maguire / Fuchs
Mendy / Iborra
Albrighton / Ghezzal / Gray
Vardy
Subs: Schmeichel, Morgan, Simpson, Ndidi, Maddison, Okazaki, Iheanacho
Ndidi and Maddison were both poor on Saturday, so drop them both. Ghezzal was one of our best players when he came on at the weekend so reward that performance with a start - hopefully the others will see that effort gets rewarded and follow suit.
Lots of games in quick succession for Morgan may prove too much, so let Soyuncu/Maguire finally build a partnership - excited to see how they work together.
Ward has done well so far so that's a no brainer for the cup games.
Rest basically picks itself.

For me, there's a number of points to judge Puel on and it's very much in the balance right now as to whether or not he should stay on.
On Transfers, I'd say he's mostly been a success. We've strengthened in all the areas we've been crying out for since the title win (CB*3, RB, AM, GK) mostly with young players with good potential. Even Ghezzal - who imo gets an unfair rap on here - has put in some decent performances after being bought as a squad player, improving on Diabaté
On Development, several players seem to be coming on strongly where they've previously faltered (Chilwell, Amartey, Mendy), and a few others are growing into their roles here after slow starts (Evans, Pereira, Soyuncu(?)), so I'd put this down as a slight success.
On Results, it's unfortunately edging towards failure. We have been unfortunate with injuries, suspensions etc., but we've still been picking up points and looking reasonably comfortable in mid-table. We should absolutely be pushing on though, and we've had opportunities to get Europa last season and push 6th this, but failed to take any of them. We're still in the cup for now and a win tomorrow may tip the balance in Puel's favour, here.
On Performances, failure. Pretty self-evident, we've been rubbish. Puel clearly has a style in mind but it's just not working with the personnel, and matches are drab affairs as a result. Every now and then it clicks and we see what we could be - and it's brilliant - for about 15 minutes and then its normal service resumed.
Overall, for me it's pretty balanced for and against. I've voted to keep him for the time being after all the events from the past few months, and I'm interested to see what we do in January. HOWEVER, if the right man (or woman, why not?) is available to take over and we can bring them in quickly, I would fully support that decision. I imagine our board are already starting to sound out potential replacements in case they have to pull the trigger.

Chilwell (obviously), Mendy, and Amartey (still learning, but looked like he was settling before his injury). Could argue Gray has improved as well.
Ndidi definitely seems to have regressed. Morgan's age seems to be catching up with him but he's just about maintaining his usual standard. Schmeichel's distribution seems worse too, although its been poor for a while.

You don't get capped consistently for your national side at the age he did without having something about you. He put in man-of-the-match performances in a side with senior pros like Lewandowski, ffs. We've seen flashes of brilliance from him when he has played, although it's usually only moments out of a whole game where otherwise he's been anonymous.
I'm optimistic that he could come good if he commits himself and puts in the extra work needed. However, I'm not optimistic that he will come good for us. I'm more just hopeful that he progresses enough so that we can send him on a proper loan to a championship side and maybe bump up his price for a permanent transfer.